Toronto Maple Leafs: Five-Forward Power Play

Should the Toronto Maple Leafs consider running a five-forward power play unit?

Less than two weeks separate fans from seeing their beloved Toronto Maple Leafs grace the ice as a group for the first time since last April. Training camp is set to open on September 14th and the Toronto Maple Leafs are looking absolutely menacing up front.

With a ton of tantalizing forwards at their disposal, it only makes sense for Toronto to begin the trend of stacking their top power play unit with five forwards. Leading an emphasis on top-tier talent, the pre-season provides an ample opportunity to do just that while developing the group’s chemistry.

There is plenty of firepower for Mike Babcock to experiment with and it would be doing his team a disservice by not considering such a potentially lethal alignment. There is always room for improvement despite reigning as the league’s second-most successful power play from last season.

The Fearsome Five

With high-end talents such as Auston Matthews and John Tavares presumably locked into either of the two power play units, along with Mitch Marner and William Nylander, does not leave a lot of minutes to spread around the other forwards. Perhaps utilizing more on the power play would improve ice-time for depth players in this respect. 

Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen will prove to be valuable roster additions with vastly different skill sets, while ageless wonder Patrick Marleau’s enduring production doesn’t appear to be an issue as of yet. There are plenty of options to be slotted around, yet this is the most top-heavy lineup I can envision without hampering the second unit. 

Matthews – Tavares – Brown

Nylander – Marner

Skeptics will say the “defensive pairing” of William Nylander and Mitch Marner is a worst-case scenario for Toronto’s last line of defence. However, there is magic to be made between Auston Matthews and William Nylander along the left side boards, while Mitch Marner’s vision on the opposite side could net Matthews a few cross-zone passes from the right.

Throughout all of that commotion, John Tavares can win crucial puck battles and compliment the likes of each partnering linemate around the offensive zone. Connor Brown has respectable finishing ability, too.

The emergence of a four-forward power play has become something of a norm in recent seasons — but Toronto has the potential to take it one step further. 

Considerations

Although it is now considered a skill-first league, defence absolutely matters in power-play situations and can make or break a unit’s overall success.

One may argue that Morgan Rielly or Jake Gardiner should assume a primary role on the point, simply because of their offensive pedigree, and they wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. Generally speaking, either is far more competent at defending than their forward counterparts. However, thinking strictly from a usage standpoint, Toronto’s defenseman could use all the rest they can get to perform at five-on-five.

The strain would be significantly less on the back-end if one of Rielly or Gardiner were to take a step back from special teams. Ideally, that would be Jake Gardiner in an attempt to suppress his point-production as he is entering a contract year, without taking away from last year’s second-best power play conversion rate of 24.9%. If the Toronto Maple Leafs have any hope of signing the pending Unrestricted Free Agent, another 50-point season would not work in their favour.

Rielly tallied 25 power play points last season, eclipsing Gardiner’s comparably low of 15. Under this scheme, Rielly would comfortably headline the team’s second unit with Nazem Kadri slotted at centre.

Not all of Toronto’s forwards will see their share of ice at even-strength due to recent roster additions and will be eager to earn minutes. What better way than to utilize their talents than on the power play? 

Nazem Kadri has proven effective while on the man-advantage, tallying 12 goals and 19 points last season. He could assume a role on the second unit and perhaps keep up with his 30-goal pedigree demonstrated over the past two seasons. His options along either wing remain a mystery but Patrick Marleau should factor into the left side of the equation unless Andreas Johnsson can steal the reigns and earn Babcock’s trust. As for the right side, it’s a toss-up between Connor Brown or Kasperi Kapanen.

Does the tie still go to the veteran?

If all fails, Mike Babcock can always revert to a more balanced approach. The risk is minimal, while the reward is exceedingly high. Similar to swinging for a grand slam on a 3-0 count with zero outs, you can’t blame them for trying.